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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
I know. And literally so much more. Best of all, get it all shipped for free with any purchase of $25 or more.
Jenna Fischer
And remember, stores are closed on Thanksgiving Day, so shop every Black Friday deal on Macy's.com shop now and score the.
Angela Kinsey
Best deals before they're gone. Plus, get free shipping with any purchase of $25 or more.
Jenna Fischer
Visit Macy's.com November 24th through 30th for Black Friday deals.
Angela Kinsey
Whenever I travel, I love to learn new languages. Wherever I am, learn phrases. I always wish I knew more.
Jenna Fischer
This is very true about you and it's a really cool thing about traveling with you, actually.
Angela Kinsey
Thanks. Well, you know, I'm a big fan of Rosetta Stone. It is the most trusted language learning program available on your desktop. As an app, it can truly help you immerse you in the language you want to learn.
Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
Here's one of the things I like about it. It has built in true accent features so you can get feedback on your pronunciation.
Jenna Fischer
I like that you can learn on the go that you can use the mobile app and right now they have a lifetime membership that has all 25 languages.
Angela Kinsey
That is such a great deal. You can have it for your trips and any language needs you have in life.
Jenna Fischer
Don't put off learning that language. There's no better time than right now to get started. For a short time, Office Ladies listeners can get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership holiday special.
Angela Kinsey
This offer will not last long. Visit rosettastone.com officeladies that's unlimited access to 25 language courses for the rest of your life. Redeem your Holiday offer@RosettaStone.com OfficeLadies today for yourself or as a gift that keeps giving. Welcome to Second Drink Healthcare. I love this episode. It's one of my absolute favorites. Jenna, you know, I have a T shirt that I wear all the time. I've had it for years. It just says hot dog fingers.
Jenna Fischer
I know. Well, I love that we interview Rainn Wilson in this episode and he talks about the origin of hot dog fingers, which is such a great story.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Let's dive in with some new tidbits.
Jenna Fischer
All right. Well, I'll start because I promised that I would track it. And I'm delighted to report that at 45 seconds, there is still a cat calendar at reception.
Angela Kinsey
Nice. I like nothing. I love that you're tracking this cat calendar.
Jenna Fischer
I'm on it.
Angela Kinsey
Well, one of the things I really love about these early episodes is getting to revisit the beginning of Jim and Pam.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. And if you want even more of that, there is a super duper cute Jim and Pam deleted scene for this episode. It's on the DVDs. Okay, so do you remember how Dwight made a sign to hang on the conference room door while he was working on the healthcare plan?
Jenna Fischer
Yes. Dwight Schrute workspace.
Angela Kinsey
Very official.
Jenna Fischer
Mm.
Angela Kinsey
Well, I guess he made a few other signs before he settled on that one. And he put them all in the trash, and Pam and Jim take the trash can and they go sit together and they go through it and they read all the other ones. It is just cutesy, cutesy stuff.
Jenna Fischer
I mean, it's just an excuse to flirt with one another, really.
Angela Kinsey
It's those early days when they just did anything so they could be together.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
I also loved watching it because you see our original location when you watch it. It's outside on this little tiny balcony overlooking the parking lot that does not exist once we move to the sound stages.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And you see a whole different view. But I really want to play it for you guys. It's super cute.
Jenna Fischer
We stole Dwight's trash can, and we found some of his early attempts at his sign. Okay, here's. This is very simple. Dwight's workspace. Nice. This one's interesting. The power comes from the font in this one. Schrute space. Very medieval, very England. This one's forceful. This one's very Dwight quiet. Dwight Schrute working. It's good. I really heard him on that. This one's interesting. I'm not really sure what he meant by this. Um, Dwight Schrute privates. Tough to say.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. You are so stinking cute in this scene, Jenna. I mean, I left you a message and I was like, you would win cutest in the office, Dundee.
Jenna Fischer
Like, truly, my job in that scene is mostly just to look at Jim with just sparkle eyes, to just. I'm so enamored and just so tickled. He makes me laugh. He's so funny. That was basically what I'm doing.
Angela Kinsey
Young actors, if you wanna watch a scene on how to just be in the moment and be adorable, go watch this deleted scene.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my gosh. You're being so Sweet, Angela.
Angela Kinsey
That's true. I thought it was adorable.
Jenna Fischer
Well, in our breakdown of this episode, we talk about how this idea of Dwight taking over the conference room was a nod to the second episode of the British Office. And that Jim Pam scene that you just played, it was actually borrowed from their episode. Don and Tim go through discarded conference room signs. It's super cute when they do it, too. And here's another little tidbit. This episode ends with major cringe.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Michael has promised everyone a big surprise. And everyone's pretty grumpy because they end up getting a crappy healthcare plan and ice cream sandwiches. Paul Lieberstein did an interview where he shared that the final scene of this healthcare episode was scripted as, quote, the longest pause in television history. Which I just love their fascination in these early seasons with creating the longest pauses.
Angela Kinsey
Just leaning into the awkward. Well, we had to look it up. And here's how it's described in the shooting draft. I'm going to read you the stage direction for the scene. Okay? So Michael says, okay, well, I have news for you. There is a big surprise. And the big surprise is. And here's the stage direction. We now experience the longest silent beat in network television history. Michael is blank. No one is willing to let him off the hook. We check in with everyone's expression. It's excruciating. Oscar gets fed up, puts on his coat and drifts away. After a beat, Meredith and Angela shake their heads sadly and leave. Michael is now flop, sweating a tiny bit, still silent. Kevin and Kelly drift away, followed by Toby. Stanley, as he walks out, glares at Michael. Michael turns away. Jim looks at Pam like, can you believe this? Pam stares back, still upset at him. She leaves Jim stung a bit, waits a second, and then follows her out slowly. Everyone else leaves. Dwight is standing next to Michael. After a final beat, Dwight says, oh, Jan wants you to call her. And Dwight walks away. Yes.
Jenna Fischer
You know, we talk about shooting that scene in our breakdown, but I am not sure that we cover how truly impressive it is that Steve somehow manages to make himself start sweating.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. You feel his body, like, temperature. You, like, see him, like, starting to break out in, like, little beads of sweat.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, I rewatched it. It's really incredible. And we should say that while we did stand there for about two and a half minutes of silence, all just staring at him, and then we did exactly what the stage direction said in the episode, they cut back and forth to talking heads. So you don't really ever have, like, two and a half minutes of silence.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. You have Michael's talking head in the middle.
Jenna Fischer
There is a lot of awkward silence, but I think Booze Cruise still gets the award for longest silence on the show.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. Not quite as cringy, but definitely uncomfortable. Definitely uncomfortable silence. So there you have it, you guys. Office ladies 6.0 is off for Thanksgiving break this week, but we will see you back next Monday for a second drink of the alliance. And we have some fun new tidbits.
Jenna Fischer
I'm Jenna Fisher.
Angela Kinsey
And I'm Angela Kinsey.
Jenna Fischer
We were on the Office together and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate Office rewatch podcast just for you.
Angela Kinsey
Each week we will break down an episode of the Office and give exclusive behind the scenes stories that only two people who were there can tell you.
Jenna Fischer
We're the Office Ladies.
Angela Kinsey
Hey, welcome back to Office Ladies. It is Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fisher and we're going to be talking today about healthcare.
Jenna Fischer
Healthcare. One of my favorite episodes from season one.
Angela Kinsey
I love it. I love this episode because to me, it's the Office at its best because it's ordinary people doing ordinary things and it all goes south.
Jenna Fischer
And it's big stakes because having a job that has good healthcare is everything. So, yes, today we are talking about season one, episode three, Healthcare. It was written by Paul Lieberstein, who plays Toby Flanderson. Yes. And directed by Ken Whittingham.
Angela Kinsey
I love Ken.
Jenna Fischer
And we love Ken.
Angela Kinsey
Ken is the tall, gentle man. Like, he is just, like, so sweet and kind.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, you and I would talk to Ken all the time.
Angela Kinsey
All the time.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Probably, like too much. Like, he probably at some point was.
Jenna Fischer
Like, ladies, I have work to do.
Angela Kinsey
I kind of have work to do. And we're like, hi, Ken. He's just so lovely.
Jenna Fischer
We had Ken back a lot over the entire nine seasons. He directed nine episodes of the Office, including. Including Phyllis's wedding.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. You just had a little bit of St. Louis there. I hear it every once in a while, but you said over.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, is that a St. Louis thing?
Angela Kinsey
I don't know, but you say some words, like different. I think it's St. Louis.
Jenna Fischer
The biggest St. Louis thing that I don't do, but that Phyllis does. Speaking of Phyllis is farty far. Oh, so we have a highway there called Highway 44. Yeah, they call it farty far. And you eat with a fark.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, sometimes rain. Rain. And Phyllis sat back to back, you know.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And every once in a while, Rainn would just turn around to Phyllis and say, Phyllis, say 44. And she would Like Phyllis. Like, when she gets really tickled, she snorts when she laughs. So she'd be like, party far. Okay. All right, keep going.
Jenna Fischer
All right, well, let me do a summary of healthcare. It's pretty simple. Jan tells Michael that he needs to pick a cheaper healthcare plan for his employees to help prevent downsizing. Michael gives the job to Dwight and then hides in his office all day because he knows, oh, yeah, no one is going to want their healthcare. Slash slashes.
Angela Kinsey
Classic Michael passing the buck for sure. Which you're gonna see over and over and over in the lifetime of the show.
Jenna Fischer
So after Dwight picks a plan that slashes almost all the benefits and the entire office revolts, Michael promises us a surprise. Very vague.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. Which is what you do with your children when you have to give them bad news. But there's gonna be a surprise.
Jenna Fischer
It's. And what I think is interesting is that everyone is skeptical, but also like, well, maybe there is a surprise.
Angela Kinsey
It's so sad.
Jenna Fischer
Could be a surprise.
Angela Kinsey
It's a little bit like Charlie Brown kicked the football. Like, you know, when Lucy kept doing that. I feel like they're like, there's no way he's gonna come through. But maybe because we hate our job so much, so maybe there'll be something nice.
Jenna Fischer
But then Michael has to spend the entire rest of the day scrambling to come up with something.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And what he comes up with is.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, just nothing. Just nothing.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
All right, Jenna, do you want to do some fast facts?
Jenna Fischer
You know I do, Angie.
Angela Kinsey
I know you do.
Jenna Fischer
You know it. All right, so my first fast fact is that after the pilot episode, which we talked about, was pretty much a word for word adaptation of the British pilot, because this was a British television show before it was an American television show. Yes. After that, we started writing all original episodes. So Diversity Day was all original. It was our story. And this is all original with the exception of a little wink. A little nod to the British show.
Angela Kinsey
What? Trivia master. What?
Jenna Fischer
So in an episode of the British Office, their Dwight character, whose name is Gareth, he gets to lead an investigation into some dirty emails that came into the office. And so he takes over the conference room, and he even puts a little sign on the window. And that is the little thing that we stole for this episode is that Dwight is going to do that same thing.
Angela Kinsey
He's going to take over the conference room.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. But in this case, it is to pick a new health care plan for the company.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Jenna Fischer
So we did that from time to time. We just do, like, these little nods to The British show, which I always think are kind of fun, especially because there were people who were huge fans of the original who were then watching our show. And that was, like, a little treatment.
Angela Kinsey
Well, I like it. I like where your head's at starting out this episode.
Jenna Fischer
You like it?
Angela Kinsey
Some really good trivia, Jenna. I like where you're going. I like it. I've got my note cards ready, lady.
Jenna Fischer
Do you want to hit me with a note card, or shall I continue with fast facts?
Angela Kinsey
No, no, no, do your fast facts. I got some note cards waiting for you, though.
Jenna Fischer
All right, well, this is a fast fact, and it's actually something, Angela, that you pointed out.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, is it a Kinsey fast fact?
Jenna Fischer
It's a Kinsey fast fact.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
That this is the first time we see Devyn and Creed at their desks.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, yes, yes. I love spotting little things in the background.
Jenna Fischer
You are. I'm gonna label you our background expert.
Angela Kinsey
No, don't. I'm not the expert.
Jenna Fischer
You are. But you notice those things. You really notice continuity stuff. Was it because you spent so much time in the background, Angela?
Angela Kinsey
Is that a dig?
Jenna Fischer
No, we all did.
Angela Kinsey
I'm totally kidding. No, we did, but I'm like, all right, Ms. Front Reception, let me tell you something. Back in accounting corner, we noticed shiitake, okay? We notice things.
Jenna Fischer
No, but you were always lurking back there, so I thought, well, maybe now I'm a lurker. I thought maybe, you know, you're noticing more of what's happening back there.
Angela Kinsey
Some real truth's coming out today. You know what I noticed in this episode? That Jim has an E.T. on his desk. An E.T. doll.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, a little extraterrestrial.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
See what I'm saying? This is a Kinsey background observation.
Angela Kinsey
He's got a little ET on his desk, and the ET Is wearing, like, a blue coat.
Jenna Fischer
I have never noticed that.
Angela Kinsey
I know. It's at. For you guys watching, it's at 14 minutes, around 35 seconds. There's ET on Jim's desk, and I'm like, what the heck? I don't remember that E.T. okay, anyway, see, if you see E.T. at 14 minutes.
Jenna Fischer
Wow. See what I'm saying? You did have a note card.
Angela Kinsey
I have a ton of note cards.
Jenna Fischer
There you go.
Angela Kinsey
I have more. Okay, go.
Jenna Fischer
All right, Angela, here's my last fast fact, and this is something I learned when I was doing my prep for this episode, and I listened to the DVD commentary. So this is the third episode of season one. However, we shot it sixth.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, so I remember we shot the pilot. And then we waited like six months to see if we got picked up.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And then when we did get picked up, the writers had turned in like they had all their scripts ready for season one. Cause there were only five more to do.
Angela Kinsey
That's right. We only did six.
Jenna Fischer
We did not shoot them in the same order in which they aired. So when we finished this episode, we all said goodbye.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh. Do you know that?
Jenna Fischer
I remember that now.
Angela Kinsey
That puts a whole different filter on it now, like, re watching it. Because I feel like we were really loosey goosey in this episode. I mean, we're gonna talk about it, but a few of us just full on laugh and it's in the episode.
Jenna Fischer
But we were really. We were a tight knit group by the time we were filming this.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, we were all pals.
Jenna Fischer
And I think it shows in the episode. And I think that might also be why I have such, like, a warm place in my heart for this episode. Because when we were filming this episode, we really believed. We really, really believed that this was the last one we would ever do.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, for sure. I thought we were not coming back at all. And I had my name, like, they printed out our name, like on paper, but then laminated it, you know, for our trailer door.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
With a little bit of Velcro that was on our trailer door. And I took my little laminated piece of paper that said my name.
Jenna Fischer
Me too.
Angela Kinsey
I still have it.
Jenna Fischer
I still have it. You know what I did?
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
I made a mixtape.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my God.
Jenna Fischer
I made a mixtape. And I called it something like Scranton Sounds. Sounds of Scranton.
Angela Kinsey
Sounds of Scranton.
Jenna Fischer
And I gave it to John Rayne, Steve, and bj, along with a tiny homemade scrapbook of some photos.
Angela Kinsey
And then you said, hi. 1994 called. They want my mixtape back.
Jenna Fischer
I'm sure those guys were like, this is.
Angela Kinsey
And you were like, listen, girliest present.
Jenna Fischer
I've ever been given.
Angela Kinsey
I just picture you giving that mixtape to people. And some people, like, they don't even have a tape player in their car.
Jenna Fischer
No one. It was a cd, okay. It was a mixed cd. I call it mixtape.
Angela Kinsey
Okay. I pictured an actual.
Jenna Fischer
No, it wasn't a cassette. It was a cd. I am certain if I had to bet money, I am certain no one ever listened to it. Oh, I listened to it all the time.
Angela Kinsey
You listened to it in your car ride. Because it was. It was the sounds of Scranton.
Jenna Fischer
It was the sounds of Scranton. This is real. So my commute to where we filmed the first season of the Office was Very long. It was over an hour. Because I lived in the San Fernando Valley and we shot in Culver City. And if you live in Los Angeles or have ever been here, that is a very long commute in the morning. Yes. And I wanted to, quote, unquote, get in character. So I wanted to pretend like I was driving in Scranton. So I wanted some Sounds of Scranton.
Angela Kinsey
Did you? Did you like, I had a research what people were listening to in Scranton.
Jenna Fischer
Like, how do you know?
Angela Kinsey
How do you know these are the sounds of Scranton?
Jenna Fischer
You know what? I really don't. I want to say I made a lot of assumptions, and I kind of went back to my college days and I had some classic rock and a little bit of Garth Brooks. But now that I'm saying it, I realize I don't really know what east coast people listen to. I was. So whatever. It put me in a headspace.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, well, I just want you to know, I want the sounds of Scranton on our website.
Jenna Fischer
I'm gonna look for it.
Angela Kinsey
I want the playlist.
Jenna Fischer
I bet I still have it.
Angela Kinsey
Also, I want to know if it was.
Jenna Fischer
It's gonna be embarrassing.
Angela Kinsey
If it was a cd, I wanna know, did you make a little cover and write out each song, or did you type them out and print it? Is there a photo? What's the COVID of the cd?
Jenna Fischer
The COVID of the CD is a collage of different pictures that remind me of Scranton.
Angela Kinsey
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. No, wait. Please stop. Please stop. These aren't photos of people on the show. No, they're images of Scranton that you, like. You, like, got from the computer, you got from the Internet.
Jenna Fischer
And it's a collage.
Angela Kinsey
And so they're photos of Scranton.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
And it's called Sounds of Scranton.
Jenna Fischer
Right.
Angela Kinsey
You are the biggest dork I know, and I will do it on my.
Jenna Fischer
Drive to get into the character of Pam.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my God.
Jenna Fischer
And then I would go to work.
Angela Kinsey
This is all why I love you. This is why I love you. Because I want to be best friends with a person that prints images of places in script and makes a collage and that makes up a cd.
Jenna Fischer
As I'm telling this story now, it's occurring to me that when you live in a city, you don't make a tribute CD of the city living. I lived in St. Louis my whole life, and I never drove around with a CD called Sounds of St. Louis.
Angela Kinsey
Well, I'm going to now. Sounds of Los Angeles.
Jenna Fischer
Ooh, let's make it. I didn't know what to Give as a wrap gift. That's a thing. Do people know that when you finish a series, when you finish a season of a show, it's sort of customary to give out little presents to your cast members or to some of your crew members. And so I really did not know what to give out. You know, sounds of Kate Flannery. I give out sounds of Scranton. Kate Flannery had these Dunder Mifflin candles made. Do you remember that?
Angela Kinsey
I have it.
Jenna Fischer
I still have it.
Angela Kinsey
I have it.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. And she gave out, like, a Dunder Mifflin candle. But we really gifted. We were like, we're done.
Angela Kinsey
I got everyone to sign my script. So I still have that. And that's really cool. And Kate gave me a photo of her and I standing at our trailers, because we shared a trailer. Kate and I had a trailer. And just the only thing between our toilets was, like, a plastic accordion door. So if I sat on my toilet and she sat on hers, our knees touched. So we made a vow to never use our toilets. We were like, we just can't. We can't. That's just not going to happen.
Jenna Fischer
I remember that.
Angela Kinsey
You remember our plastic accordion door?
Jenna Fischer
I do.
Angela Kinsey
That didn't even really shut, so we just opened it and just shared basically one room with two toilets.
Jenna Fischer
Well, when I think back to that time, I remember having anxiety about. I mean, I've just had the most thrilling experience of my acting life. I had been a struggling actor for eight years before I got my job on the Office. I'd never had a regular role on anything. I'd done pilots, but they never got picked up. So this was my first series. And I thought, well, what do I do if this show gets canceled? I guess I just go back to the beginning. I mean, we could have all had to go back and get day jobs again.
Angela Kinsey
I mean, so Kate Flannery and I both. We did not quit our day jobs for the first season of the Office. Oh, I remember that. Kate Flannery was still a waitress at Kate Manolini. Yes. In Beverly Hills. And so she would work on the Office, and then she'd go wait tables.
Jenna Fischer
I remember that.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. And I was working at iOS, which is an improv theater, and I was helping run the Office, and I stayed on and would help. Yeah, I just would have gone back to helping run a theater and improv classes. And I ran the intern program. I fired someone who's now famous, one of my interns.
Jenna Fischer
Who can you say?
Angela Kinsey
He's a lovable person and I love him.
Jenna Fischer
Tell Me.
Angela Kinsey
So this was my intern who was always late. He was always late. The higher ups said, okay, you can be late three times and then you get fired. And so I.
Jenna Fischer
As an intern, his job was to keep the restroom clean.
Angela Kinsey
He had to come early, set up the box office.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
Like, we needed him there early, and he was late a lot, but I really liked him. And then finally they were like, you're gonna have to fire him. So he walks in one day and.
Jenna Fischer
His name is Derek Waters, creator of Drunk History.
Angela Kinsey
Creator of Drunk History. And he walked in and he was really late. And I was like, hey, Derek. And he was like, hey, Angela, are you gonna fire me today? And I was like, I am. And he goes, okay.
Jenna Fischer
Oh my gosh, Angela. He told me this story. I wrote a book. Everyone plug the Actor's Life a survival guide. Check it out.
Angela Kinsey
Nice flex. Nice flex.
Jenna Fischer
Local bookstores. Check it out. I wrote a book and I interviewed Derek in the book and he told me the story of being fired from I.O. i did not know it was you that fired him.
Angela Kinsey
It was me.
Jenna Fischer
But it's still very much on his mind because he mentioned it in an inter.
Angela Kinsey
I know, but anyway, I would just go back to running a theater. Basically, I have something. So I know healthcare is about the office, finding a good healthcare plan and the downsizing. I know the overall arc of this episode, but I just want you to know I have started calling this episode the Pam Sass.
Jenna Fischer
The Pam Sass.
Angela Kinsey
Uh huh. And it's going to come up throughout this episode where Pam is super sassy.
Jenna Fischer
Well, well, uh huh.
Angela Kinsey
It starts off right away when Michael comes up to you and you say, I'm not making any copies. Like you're sassy out of the gate, lady. And then you say, oh, do you want me to repeat the messages for the. And like, you look to camera. I have many more as we go through this episode. Oh my gosh.
Jenna Fischer
What were you. Did I piss you off before you watched this episode and then you're just looking for sass last moment.
Angela Kinsey
I am not. Hey, listen, you rewatch it and right away you're just like, you are here. You are not here to mess around.
Jenna Fischer
You try having a boss like Michael Scott and see what kind of mood it puts you in.
Angela Kinsey
Well, you were sassy in this one.
Jenna Fischer
I was matter of fact.
Angela Kinsey
Pam sass. Okay, go. Go on. What's out? What else is there?
Jenna Fischer
That's it.
Angela Kinsey
All right, lady. I think we should take a break.
Jenna Fischer
I think we should, but I think we should tell everyone that when we come back from our break, we're gonna have a special guest.
Angela Kinsey
Well, I think you just told them.
Jenna Fischer
I did. It's gonna be a tall drink of water.
Angela Kinsey
Mm.
Jenna Fischer
Mr. Rainn Wilson. We've been talking about the SimpliSafe home security system for a long time now, and I'm very excited because Simplisafe is now offering our listeners 60% off. Just visit simplisafe.com officeladies well, you guys.
Angela Kinsey
Know I've been using SimpliSafe for years. It just brings me peace of mind. I like knowing that my home is protected 24 7. And with SimpliSafe, they have active guard. So that can actually prevent break ins from happening. It can prevent package theft and vandalism because there's live monitoring agents who can see, speak to and deter any suspicious individuals outside your home before they even get the chance.
Jenna Fischer
SimpliSafe is offering our listeners exclusive early access to their Black Friday sale this week. Only you can get 60% off any new system with a select professional monitoring plan.
Angela Kinsey
This is their best offer of the year. Head to simplisafe.comofficeladies that's simplisafe.com officeladies. There's no safe like SimpliSafe.
Jenna Fischer
Well, lady, what a year it has been.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Jenna Fischer
You know, this is a really good time to kind of step back and look at your life and think about, is there something about this past year that I should commemorate with something beautiful? Do you see where I'm going with this?
Angela Kinsey
I do.
Jenna Fischer
I am talking about buying yourself some jewelry.
Angela Kinsey
We're big fans of buying yourself a little something because you made a finish line, you made a goal, something in your life you've been working towards that you want to celebrate by gifting yourself something beautiful.
Jenna Fischer
Well, we celebrated our first 100 episodes of Office Ladies with Jewelry from Bluenile.com we each got a set of very beautiful diamond stud earrings. And I treasure those.
Angela Kinsey
I do too.
Jenna Fischer
And when I look at them, I think of our accomplishment.
Angela Kinsey
Here's the thing. Their website is amazing. And if you have any questions, Blue Nile's jewelry experts are on hand 247 via phone or chat.
Jenna Fischer
Whether you're looking for a bit of special sparkle for yourself or to give the best holiday gift of all time, Blue Nile offers some of the highest quality standards in the industry at prices significantly below retail.
Angela Kinsey
Go to bluenile.com to shop Blue Nile, the original online jeweler since 1999. That's blue nile.com bluenile.com as we gather with loved ones this holiday season, consider how learning a new language can enhance your connections and enrich your experiences. What are your goals for the upcoming holiday season? Whether it's traveling internationally or connecting with family and friends, a new language can open doors to meaningful conversations and cultural appreciation. With that in mind, there's no better tool than Rosetta Stone, the most trusted language learning program available on desktop and mobile. Rosetta Stone immerses you in the language so you truly learn to think, speak, and understand it naturally. With Rosetta Stone's intuitive approach, there are no English translations. You're fully immersed, and the built in True accent feature acts like a personal accent coach, giving you real time feedback to make sure you sound just right. Don't put off learning that language. There's no better time than right now to get started. For a short time, listeners can get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership holiday special. This offer will not last long. Visit rosettastone.com Rs10. That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for the rest of your life. Redeem your Holiday offer@RosettaStone.com Rs10 today for yourself or as a gift that keeps.
Jenna Fischer
It's time to break down the healthcare episode.
Angela Kinsey
Let's do it.
Jenna Fischer
All right. We're gonna go a little rogue here.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
We're gonna do a phone call with Rainn Wilson.
Angela Kinsey
With Rainn Wilson.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. There were just too many things about this episode that were Dwight centered, and we had a lot of questions from fans that I think we needed to go straight to the source. We agreed.
Angela Kinsey
We agreed, and Rainn said yes, and we're so thrilled. So we're gonna talk to Rainn.
Jenna Fischer
We're gonna call him. Let's call Rainn.
C
Hello?
Jenna Fischer
Is this Rainn Wilson?
Angela Kinsey
Hey, Rainn.
C
It is Rainn Wilson.
Jenna Fischer
Rainn Wilson. It's Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.
Angela Kinsey
What's up, fella?
Jenna Fischer
How are you? Thanks for doing this.
C
I'm great, guys. Yeah, I'm really good. I'm launching a podcast this week called Metaphysical Milkshake.
Jenna Fischer
Oh.
C
And I'm doing that with Reza Aslan.
Jenna Fischer
And is this in coordination with Soul Pancake?
C
It is, yes. And it's life's big questions of, you know, philosophy and psychology and spirituality and sociology, and we're talking to some of the world's greatest minds with some super interesting stories.
Angela Kinsey
I love that.
C
That launches very soon.
Jenna Fischer
That is so you, Rain. That is so you. You are the person I go to with all of those questions in life. We can tell people. I have called you on occasion. Sobbing. You Are my person that I trust with those big life moments. So this makes total sense. It's true.
C
That's so sweet. And I call you anytime I have an issue in the kitchen or anything with cooking or bread, anything yeast related.
Angela Kinsey
I will say this, though, Rainn. You know what I love is that you do reach out to Jenna and I in times when you're definitely, like, wanting, like, love and support. And I love that we are all there for each other like that. It's true. Yeah.
C
You guys are like the sisters that I never had.
Angela Kinsey
Aw, you're too. We've talked about you a little bit. Like, how you would look at us and say, like, look at them. They just like they're two hens. Like, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck.
Jenna Fischer
They will not stop talking.
C
I mean, if the listeners could only know what those conversations were like on the set. I mean, it's just like, I made the best lasagna. You did? I love lasagna. One time I went to Italy, I had lasagna, you know. You went to Italy? I've been to Spain once. I like Spain.
Angela Kinsey
I mean, rain.
C
Rain, do you like ham? I love ham.
Angela Kinsey
They weren't even that interesting. Rain. They weren't even that interesting.
Jenna Fischer
More interesting.
Angela Kinsey
That is, like, way more. Way more fascinating than anything we ever talked about for hours on end.
C
That's fantastic.
Jenna Fischer
It's so cute.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, well, we have some questions for you about the healthcare episode.
Jenna Fischer
We do.
Angela Kinsey
All right, go.
Jenna Fischer
So we're talking to you about the healthcare episode, which is appropriate because this is a Dwight. A storyline.
Angela Kinsey
Big storyline. Your first real big one. Right?
C
Wow. Thanks, guys. Thanks for the support. Yeah. From 2004. Yeah. Thank you.
Angela Kinsey
Hey, you did some great stuff a decade ago.
C
No kidding. It's true.
Jenna Fischer
All right, so I want to ask you, rain, just what comes to mind for you when you first think of the healthcare episode?
C
That was the first episode that I remember that we spent an inordinate amount of time in the conference room. And I remember saying, hot dog fingers.
Jenna Fischer
Hot dogs.
Angela Kinsey
Which totally made us break. And they left it in the episode, Rainn. I full on start laughing. And then Brian breaks character and points to me and starts laughing. And it's still in. That is your real laughing, and that's me really laughing.
C
It's true. They left in the edit you guys breaking you guys cracking over these diseases, and it's truly hysterical. But I do remember saying to Kate Flannery, didn't I say, like, you had your vagina removed and she's like, it was. It was a hysterectomy. It was my uterus or something like that.
Angela Kinsey
I still have a vagina.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, that was in the conference room. But when you first come out, this is a frequently asked fan question, which is, did you guys improvise the fake diseases or were they scripted? And I remember that there were scripted fake diseases, but then at a certain point, just Paul and the director and other writers came down and they were just handing you a piece of paper with improvised fake diseases, and none of us knew you were going to say hot dog fingers. It was a complete and utter surprise. That was not in the script. Do you remember that?
C
Yes. So that's exactly. There were some very funny ones that were scripted. And nanorobot micro invasion or whatever that one was that was in there. And a lot of great ones were in there. But, yeah, they kept feeding the other ones. It was very hard for me to keep a straight face. I broke all the time.
Angela Kinsey
I know. I remember thinking, how are we going to have any usable take? I didn't, because we all kept laughing.
C
You know, you get to a certain point in laughing when you just cross a line where you've just been tickled too much and you just can't bring it back. That happened, you know, that happened maybe, like, I won't say every episode, but every two to three episodes, that kind of happened for me. And it absolutely happened in this one. But my friend Kevin, Kevin Isola, who's an actor in New York, he was visiting the set, and he was the one who actually threw out hot dogs.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my gosh. Amazing.
Angela Kinsey
Kevin.
C
That's his claim to fame. Yeah, his claim.
Jenna Fischer
I hope he has a shirt that.
Angela Kinsey
Says hot dog fingers. I mean, I feel like I am.
C
Going to buy him that shirt right now. That would be a really good. That would be a really good shirt, wouldn't it?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Hot dog fingers. Rain, you have one of my favorite talking heads in this episode. I mean, there's so many. You have so many good ones over the years, but this is like the one definitely season one, that is like.
Jenna Fischer
It sort of is like the quintessential inn for Dwight.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. It's the lion. Your whole rant about in the wild, there is no healthcare in the wild. Healthcare is. Ow. I hurt my leg.
Jenna Fischer
Should we play it? Do you want us to play it, Rainn? We have that ability here. We're really. Hygiene.
C
Yeah, I love it.
Jenna Fischer
You want to listen to yourself deliver a great talking head.
C
I do.
Jenna Fischer
In the wild. There is no healthcare in the wild.
C
Healthcare is, ow. I hurt my leg. I can't run. A lion eats me and I'm dead. Wow. I'm not dead. I'm the lion. You're dead.
Jenna Fischer
I love that so much.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh.
C
The only thing I'll say about that one was, you know, we were really establishing Dwight and his logic and how seriously he took himself and these kind of rules that Dwight started to develop where he's very hierarchical and status and like, this is. This is how things must be done. But he has a completely different set of rules than other people do. Just how he sees the world. So one of the things I think that is, given the character enduring appeal, is he sees the world in a very clear way with these kind of stratus, stratum, stratum hierarchies of rights and wrongs and moralities and how things work and how they should work. And they're very severe. And this is one of the first talking heads that kind of, like, dove delved into that world of Dwight, and it's all Paul Lieberstein. He wrote that and he was very happy with. He was so excited to kind of help. He really helped direct. He wasn't directing the episode, but he was right there kind of giving a ton of notes on different inflections and ways to say it.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, interesting. Wow.
Angela Kinsey
Interesting, interesting. Okay, this is totally random, but, Rainn, in rewatching this, during that talking head, you're passing out the new healthcare plan. You're tossing it to people, you're handing it around the office, and it looks like you have a lollipop in your mouth. There is a white stick sticking out of your mouth as you're passing all these papers out.
Jenna Fischer
You should know something about this podcast, Rainn, which is that Angela is constantly picking up on these weird little details.
Angela Kinsey
Well, I'm just like, what the heck? When I rewatch, I'm like, does rain as Dwight? Are you sucking on a lollipop as you're passing this out? Because that's brilliant.
C
I have no memory of that whatsoever, but I think maybe I was.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, well, look around. Four minutes, 50 seconds. You, like, have. It looks like a lollipop in your mouth.
Jenna Fischer
Is your four minutes, 30 seconds?
Angela Kinsey
No, 50. Around 50 seconds.
Jenna Fischer
50 seconds.
Angela Kinsey
You're just, like, flippantly passing these papers, though, sucking on a lollipop. I thought it was really cool and powerful. I don't know. I loved it.
Jenna Fischer
Well, this leads us into the scene with Jim and Pam confronting you about confronting Dwight about picking a horrible plan where he slashed all the benefits you have, all those other great Dwightisms where you say you've never been sick, that you have an amazing immune system to which, you know, we ask you, how can you have a great immune system if you've never been sick? And it's just you have great genes. And that's when you say that you can raise and lower your cholesterol at will.
Angela Kinsey
At will.
Jenna Fischer
And I say, why would you want to raise your cholesterol? And you say, so I can lower it. I remember shooting that scene with you. And I remember that was the couplet that I couldn't get through. Why would you. That was the one that got me. And that was a question from a fan, actually. Christopher said, how many times did it take for you and Rain to get through the cholesterol scene? And I can't remember how many times, but it was a lot. Christopher.
C
Yeah, it's funny how in history, looking back on the office, there are these quotes that pop out that become like the classic quotes of the character. And it's. It's interesting that, you know, for DWight, there's like 15 or 20 kind of Dwight isms that stand the test of time and that fans love to, you know, identity theft is not a joke, Jim. Some of these ones, and the cholesterol one is definitely one of them.
Jenna Fischer
I feel like another one of those phrases that people talk about is the Count Choculitis. The scene when you are confronting Jim, but also something that ended up on the cutting room floor from this were you actually had meetings with a bunch of people in the office. You shot something where you confronted Oscar. You had, I think you had a meeting with him, didn't you, Angela? And it was very short, probably where he asks you if you wrote the fake diseases because he goes through and like interviews people. Well, in your interview with Jim, you say Count Choculatus. Why did you write that down, Jim? Is it because, you know, I love Count Chocula? I love the idea that you love Count Chocula. That that's what Dwight has for breakfast in the mornings or maybe late at night while he's watching.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, maybe it's a snack.
C
Maybe he models himself after Count Chocula. Maybe there's a. He has an affinity for Count Chocula. The character. The person behind the cereal.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, yeah. Not even the cereal.
Jenna Fischer
It's not the cereal.
Angela Kinsey
That's right.
Jenna Fischer
He loves Count Chocula the cere more.
C
He's more connected to actual Count Chocula. He relates to him.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, yeah. Well, you brought it up earlier. There's also the conference room scene, when you start announcing ailments and you tell us that if we want it covered, we have to fess up and admit that it's a real disease. And that's when you have that bit with Meredith where she says. You say inverted penis.
Angela Kinsey
She's like.
Jenna Fischer
She said, do you mean vagina? Because if so, I want that covered. And then you bring up, I thought you didn't have a vagina. You had a hysterectomy. And then she has that great line.
Angela Kinsey
I still have a vagina.
C
I think I improvised. I improvised that. And this was early on, we started to kind of, like, improvise a little.
Jenna Fischer
Bit more that she had a hysterectomy. Did you improvise that?
C
Because that was his.
Jenna Fischer
That pays off later in another episode.
C
No, no, no, no, no. That was in there. The hysterectomy. But I. That. The line that. I thought you didn't have a vagina.
Jenna Fischer
Oh. Because you. Oh, okay.
Angela Kinsey
That sounds like you. Isabel has been wanting to watch the Office Rain, and I haven't let her yet. But now, like, all of her friends have seen it in fifth grade, and so I let her watch this episode with me.
C
Fifth grade.
Angela Kinsey
Her friends. Her friends. Oh, my God, they're obsessed.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, that's when it starts now that's when it starts. Fifth grade.
Angela Kinsey
Fifth grade.
C
But fifth grade is young.
Angela Kinsey
Fifth grade is young. And so Isabel hasn't seen the Office. And I. I didn't have her watch it because I didn't think it was age appropriate. And also, I just need to be mom, you know? And. But she's getting more curious now. And so she loves the bloopers. So we've watched the bloopers because they were on YouTube. And then I was rewatching this episode, and she wanted to watch it, so I let her watch it with me. And it's so her. Her introduction to the Office is healthcare.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my goodness. And so anal fissures.
Angela Kinsey
That's it. That's it. Okay. So that's scene came up, and she was like, wait, mom, that's not a real thing, is it? What is that? And I was like, oh, God, it is a real thing. And then she's like, yeah, but if.
C
You ride on the New York. If you ride on the New York subway, they have ads up for anal fissures. You read all about them.
Angela Kinsey
Well, Isabel turned to me and goes, does Brian have anal fissures? I'm like, no, no, Brian doesn't. Brian does not.
Jenna Fischer
Kevin does.
Angela Kinsey
Kevin does. And anyway, it Was just sort of funny to watch the episode with her.
Jenna Fischer
Well, this is a little bit off the topic of healthcare, but a little on the topic of just how we're friends in real life. People ask that all the time. We're friends in real life. Right, Rainn? Rainn?
C
Yes, yes. Yes, we are, Jenna.
Jenna Fischer
Okay. We've gone to lunch. We text.
Angela Kinsey
Do you need affirming?
Jenna Fischer
Can I get this in writing?
Angela Kinsey
Affirming?
Jenna Fischer
No. Okay. No, that we're all friends in real life and we shared so much of our lives doing the show for so long. I remember that your wife, Holiday, was pregnant with your son when we were shooting the pilot.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
And then I remember how you. I was born during an episode, but Rainn. I couldn't remember which episode it was we were shooting.
C
So Walter. Walter was born during the Hot Girl first girl episode.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
C
So they shot me out the first two days. They just were like, oh, we'll just shoot all rain scenes on Monday and Tuesday. And then sure enough, late Tuesday night, Walter was born. And it was horrific, ugly, difficult birth. And we were in the hospital emergency room and all that kind of stuff. You can read about that in my book, the King Now. No, I wasn't talking to you two. I was talking to all the listeners.
Jenna Fischer
Listeners. If you want the full story, you can read about it. Get the Bassoon King.
Angela Kinsey
The Bassoon King.
C
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
It's a very good book.
C
So that was kind of crazy. And then I had a couple days off, and I don't.
Jenna Fischer
We shot out of order. Yeah. So. Because the Hot Girl is the last episode that airs for season one, but it was. We shot it in the middle. Healthcare was actually the last episode that we shot. And you had a little, tiny Walter while you were shooting this episode.
C
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And I remember you had to come back to work Monday. You only had what you were so tired. Five days off after he was.
C
Yeah, we spent the whole weekend in the hospital. We were. My wife was in the hospital for like, four or five days. So we went home from the hospital maybe Sunday night or even that Monday morning. And I came to work on Monday.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my God.
Jenna Fischer
And I remember being worried. I remember just thinking, just being concerned.
Angela Kinsey
That you guys are okay.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Just emotionally with them.
C
Yeah. Everything worked out great. She's great. Walter's great. All aces.
Angela Kinsey
It's all aces. I remember the first time I met your wife was on when we were filming the pilot. And I remember how you introduced me to her. I'll never forget it. You said, this is my wife, carrier of My seed.
Jenna Fischer
That's such a Dwight thing to say.
C
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And we were like, oh, nice to meet you. And she was like, yeah. Hi, I'm Hollywood.
C
The line blurs. Yeah, it definitely blurs between me and Dwight, and I think the line blurs between all of us and our characters.
Angela Kinsey
In some regard, for sure.
Jenna Fischer
Rainn, thank you so much for talking with us on our podcast.
C
Hey, this was great. I love the healthcare episode. And I'll have to. If you'll invite me back, I'll come into the studio and we can sit down and have high fives and iced teas.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, let's do that.
Angela Kinsey
Let's do that. And you guys, we have to all check out Rainn's new podcast, Metaphysical Milkshake. And Rain, that is on. What? Where do we find that?
C
It's on Luminary.
Angela Kinsey
Luminary.
C
Download the Luminary app and it'll be right on that Luminary app.
Angela Kinsey
Well, I can't wait to listen. Rainn, I love you so much. Thank you.
Jenna Fischer
We love you.
C
I love you guys and miss you. I'm so happy you're doing this podcast and the fans are just gonna love it.
Jenna Fischer
I hope so.
Angela Kinsey
All right, Rain. Okay, come back. Okay. We love you.
C
Bye. Okay, see you soon. Bye. Thanks, guys.
Angela Kinsey
Why is it every time we talk to someone from the show, I wanna start to cry? Like, I'm, like, tearing up a little.
Jenna Fischer
I don't know. I think it's just that those relationships are so fundamental to us. Yes, they are like family, and it doesn't. It's a crew member, it's a cast member.
Angela Kinsey
It doesn't matter. It's just such a special chapter in our lives. And just hearing Rain's voice and him laughing at you and I being chatty, it just brought me straight back. Rainn, thank you so much for coming on. That just. That just made my day.
Jenna Fischer
Why get all your holiday decorations delivered through Instacart? Because maybe you only bought two wreaths, but you have 12 windows. Or maybe your toddler got very eager with the Advent calendar. Or maybe the inflatable snowman didn't make it through the snowstorm. Or maybe the twinkle lights aren't twinkling. Whatever the reason, this season, Instacart's here for hosts and their whole holiday haul. Get decorations from the Home Depot CVS and through Instacart and enjoy free delivery on your first three orders. Service fees and terms apply.
Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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C
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Jenna Fischer
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C
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Jenna Fischer
Just go to indeed.com listen right now and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility, go to indeed.com listen and tell them you heard about them from this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Angela, I want to talk about something that was one of our other most popular questions, and it came from a fan. And it's something I was wondering about as well when I watched this episode it with the accounting department. Okay, so this is for you.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Paige O. Murphy asked. I love how you get to see the start of the dynamic between the accounting department in healthcare. And this is when you're leaving the conference room and you say you let him walk all over you.
Angela Kinsey
And I'm like, did you talk to him?
Jenna Fischer
Did you talk to him?
Angela Kinsey
What was that? I'm like, it was pathetic.
Jenna Fischer
You let him walk all over you.
Angela Kinsey
And Kevin's like, what are you guys talking about? And I'm like, nothing. Kevin.
Jenna Fischer
Okay, so her question is, how much of that was you guys improvising and how much was written? This is to me like the quintessential accounting department dynamic.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. This is on my note card. Because to me, this really defined our corner, this moment.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. So let's watch it. And then I want to hear. I want to hear the real story.
Angela Kinsey
Ok, this is not good. That's ridiculous. Did you talk to him?
Jenna Fischer
What was that?
Angela Kinsey
You let him walk all over you. It's just pathetic.
Jenna Fischer
What are you guys talking about?
Angela Kinsey
Nothing. Kevin, there it is.
Jenna Fischer
There it is.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, so we improvised that. And here's the thing that I learned really quickly on this show. And I learned it from our B camera operator, Matt Sohn. Matt was like, ang, if you guys have bits, make them quick and they have a chance of getting in the show. And so we had this moment where we were all walking back to our desk, and Oscar and I kind of improvised this moment where I'm like, you know, did you talk to him? And he's like, what was that? And then we kind of just had this chit chat on the way, and our B camera operator got it, and he was like, guys, if you tighten that up, it's going to make. It'll make it in, I think if you tighten it up. So we did. We had this back and forth. And then, of course, like, I had no idea that Brian was already walking up behind us. And so he was like, what are you talking about? So I was just like, nothing, Kevin.
Jenna Fischer
And it just sort of.
Angela Kinsey
It just sort of crystallized that, you know, like, Oscar and I have this, like, weird sort of, like, office, like, dysfunctional marriage in a way, you know, and that Kevin is like our child, that we're like, just stay out of it. Leave him out of it. And it was just so fun that it made it in for us. That was really fun.
Jenna Fischer
How did that dynamic come together? Cause I know you guys would have to get stuck in the background. We've established that. But for real, you did. And I know you guys are all comedic improv performers.
Angela Kinsey
Well, Oscar and I had done a show together. You know, we met well before the Office. I've talked about this before. We had done a sketch show together called Hot Towel, and we'd known each other a long time. We had done the Groundlings together, and I think we just naturally fell into step with one another. I knew my character was always annoyed. That's like. That was like a baseline.
Jenna Fischer
That was your default.
Angela Kinsey
My baseline is I was always annoyed. And then just the way that Brian did Kevin, he seemed a little bit like the idiot.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, he was. Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So pretty much, if I had anyone I could go to about something, it was Oscar. And I was always annoyed, and I was always going to him, and he never had the answers I wanted. And then I just didn't want to even talk to Kevin. So that just sort of, like, came about naturally, I think. And Oscar and I just picked up on all those cues.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I love that Greg and the directors gave our camera operators the license to pick up moments that they hadn't even been directed to pick up. Yeah, like, they would keep one eye open on everything that was happening in the background. And especially Matt, his job was to catch reactions and to catch these little moments that were happening off of the main action. And Matt went on to direct episodes in later seasons.
Angela Kinsey
Yes, he did. And our director this episode, Ken Whittingham, was so great about letting us have that creative opportunity. So when he saw us do that, as we walked away, he was like, yeah, yeah, keep. Keep doing that. And so he encouraged us. And then, you know, we used to joke that we would have just kept going and going. And so I'd be like. I'd have to say all. I would say all the time to Brian and Oscar. It's not. It's not our show, guys. It's not our show. It's not our show. And then we had this whole, like, running bit that we did for years that there was an actual spinoff called Los Acantadores. Oscar Angela y cabin. And it lived on Telemundo. That was our spin off.
Jenna Fischer
Angela, that is actually a really good idea for a spin off. Just the accountants.
Angela Kinsey
The accountants and Creed and Creed. The accountants and Creed the account.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I just think Creed has to work in every office somehow, right?
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
Like, he's always there.
Angela Kinsey
I actually would like Creed to be in every project.
Jenna Fischer
Phone number. Who's. I need to call someone at NBC. I don't know. I think this is gold.
Angela Kinsey
I actually would like Creed to just show up in every project I have for the rest of my life. Also, he texted me this morning, and he really wants to come on the show.
Jenna Fischer
So I said, well, he's coming on the show.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, that's happening.
Jenna Fischer
I know exactly what I episode, too.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, you've got it all figured out.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. He needs to come on for the Halloween episode, which is the first episode that he speaks.
Angela Kinsey
No, Jenna, that is not the first episode that he speaks in.
Jenna Fischer
What?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, lady, look at my note card. He has a few lines in this episode of healthcare.
Jenna Fischer
What? Creed does not speak in healthcare.
Angela Kinsey
Yes, he does.
Jenna Fischer
No, he does not.
Angela Kinsey
Lady, you have to listen. Okay, so you know the scene when Michael calls the Lackawanna coal mine?
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
For. You know, he's calling because he's like, hey, is there some kind of ride there? And. And there's a voice that's like, well, you know, it's an industrial elevator, goes 300ft into the ground really slowly. Yes. Michael's like, what, is there a laser tag down there? And he's like, nope. Remember that guy?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
It's Creed.
Jenna Fischer
What?
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
The voice of the coal miner guy is Creed.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
No way.
Angela Kinsey
Well, between the two of us, I'm sure someone out there caught this, but I was watching this episode with my daughter, and she was like, mommy, that voice sounds familiar. And I was like, it does. The voice of the man that works at the coal mine sounded familiar to us. And I was like, oh, my gosh, it's Creed.
Jenna Fischer
It's Creed.
Angela Kinsey
And I texted Creed, and he said, yeah. I was so excited. He said that Ken Kwapis, who was a friend of his who was our director, he said, you know, Creed, why don't you read this? And Creed did, and they were really happy with it, and he really felt like that helped him. Him sort of down the line for Halloween because they already thought he was.
Jenna Fischer
Funny, and he is so funny.
Angela Kinsey
He's so funny.
Jenna Fischer
And his timing is perfect.
Angela Kinsey
Perfect.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
But I want you to know, I said, creed, oh, my gosh. So that was your first speaking part on the Office was as that coal miner guy. Yeah. And he goes, no.
Jenna Fischer
What? I know three. I know.
Angela Kinsey
I know you don't know this. And I'm bouncing in my chair because you don't know this. Okay. The actual first time that Creed ever spoke was in Diversity Day.
Jenna Fischer
What?
Angela Kinsey
Yes. So at the time, they needed some banter, and our first AD did not realize that Creed wasn't a series regular and didn't have a contract, that he.
Jenna Fischer
Was just a background player.
Angela Kinsey
Just a background player.
Jenna Fischer
And you're literally like that. The contract for background player is you are not allowed to speak. If you speak, there's a big bump.
Angela Kinsey
In pay, and they have to pay you.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Creed said. The adults said to him, can you fill in some banter with Phyllis? And Creed was like, you know me, Ang. I'm not shy. That's what he said. So he has this banter with Phyllis, and it made it in the episode, and then they realized they wanted to use it, but Creed wasn't officially under contract, so then they paid him. And that is actually his first line.
Jenna Fischer
Well, my mind is blown.
Angela Kinsey
Your mind is blown because Creed actually had an improv line in Diversity Day that made it in the show, and that is the first time he spoke. The second time he spoke was the elevator shaft operator on the phone with Michael. And then Halloween, as we will get to, is his big, big moment.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. Oh, that is some good stuff.
Angela Kinsey
That was a good note card, lady.
Jenna Fischer
Very good note card. Okay. Okay, Angela. Well, I have trivia.
Angela Kinsey
Mm.
Jenna Fischer
I have trivia. Why are you looking at me like that?
Angela Kinsey
I don't know.
Jenna Fischer
I have trivia.
Angela Kinsey
I'm feeling very smug with my. You are my Kree trivia.
Jenna Fischer
Well, it was really good. All right, here's mine. You know the scene when Michael goes to the travel agent where he wants to try to get us the all expense paid trip to Atlantic City, where he says the thing about, like, isn't there, like, bus that takes you there and then you get all your meals comped?
Angela Kinsey
Everything's free.
Jenna Fischer
Everything's free. And the travel agent is like, Yeah, I don't really know anything about that. You might want to just contact the casino. The casino directly. Do you know who played the travel agent?
Angela Kinsey
Is it his friend from college? Charlie Hartsock.
Jenna Fischer
Damn it, Angela.
Angela Kinsey
I remember that. I remember Steve was really excited because his friend from, you know, like, his good friend was gonna be on set that day.
Jenna Fischer
But you weren't there that day.
Angela Kinsey
I wasn't, Jenna. But Steve is my friend and he shared with me. Uh huh.
Jenna Fischer
All right, well, what else have you got? You got more note cards over there.
Angela Kinsey
You know what, Jenna? When I was watching this, I was like, oh, my gosh. This really. This episode in particular, I felt like we really saw that peep shot. And I know we're gonna talk about it.
Jenna Fischer
The spy shot, Angela.
Angela Kinsey
I call it the peep shot.
Jenna Fischer
Well, please don't call it that. To anyone else, it's called the spy shot.
Angela Kinsey
Well, you. You just called.
Jenna Fischer
We're spying. We're not peeping. Excuse me.
Angela Kinsey
You call the background actors lurkers. So we're lurking and we're peeping. Okay, but it's just that shot where you go through the blinds, right?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And we saw that a lot in this episode because Michael is hiding. He is hiding in his office. And one of my favorite ones, when you're being sassy.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my gosh. The pam SAP and a sass.
Angela Kinsey
It's a peep and a pam sac. So we're looking through the blinds, and Michael is just playing with his truck. He's rolling the truck back, and he's.
Jenna Fischer
Claiming that there's many calls coming in.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, busy, busy, busy, busy. And Pam goes, still no one calling. Yeah, still no one calling.
Jenna Fischer
It's matter of fact. You find matter of factness to be sass?
Angela Kinsey
No, I think there's a little bit of sass on it, but yeah. So I thought, I love that you got to see how we spy on people through the camera. That we get to see these moments. They don't know that we're seeing.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And you'll see it over and over. But when I watched the BBC version of this show and then when I watched our version, those were the only shows doing that at this time.
Jenna Fischer
We were really trying to employ what you would do on an actual documentary where you want to like catch people when they're not aware they're being filmed. And we behave differently when we know we're being filmed or not. And so that was. We would use the spy shot when we needed to catch people or the peep shot.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Or peep shot as Angela's calling it.
Angela Kinsey
Moving on, moving on.
Jenna Fischer
Next car.
Angela Kinsey
Two observations about John in this episode. The first one has to do with his hair. John has a full on bowl haircut in this.
Jenna Fischer
What?
Angela Kinsey
Yes. Sam, can you pull up a picture of John in this to show Jenna? I grew up in a small town and some of these farm boys, they would just put a bowl on their head and cut their hair around it.
Jenna Fischer
What was that about?
Angela Kinsey
I don't know. Look at that. Look at that.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, it's a bow. It's 14 minutes and 19 seconds.
Angela Kinsey
That's full bowl. Full bowl. Okay. And then the other thing I notice about John is that John says D. White.
Jenna Fischer
He does say.
Angela Kinsey
He says D. White. I say D. White. I say Dwight.
Jenna Fischer
Well, he doesn't say D. White. He says D. White.
Angela Kinsey
D. White.
Jenna Fischer
D. White.
Angela Kinsey
John says de White. D. White.
Jenna Fischer
D. White.
Angela Kinsey
D. White. Oh my God. John says D. White. And I say Dwight.
Jenna Fischer
I say Dwight. Dwight. Dwight.
Angela Kinsey
I. I absolutely love it now because it just makes me miss John and every time I hear him say Dwight it just makes me smile. So there are my two John observations.
Jenna Fischer
I have an observation about Jim.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
In this episode, which is. And, and actually if fan pointed this out as well, I had noticed it, but I will give some props to the other person who noticed it. Except I don't have their name written down. I'm sorry, person out there. You know who you are.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Which is that all of this could have been avoided if Jim had just taken 15 minutes and picked a plan.
Angela Kinsey
No, I know. No.
Jenna Fischer
The way he was asked in the beginning of the episode.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
I mean, he ends up having this fun, playful day with Pam. But if we're going to get real here, it cost him and everyone else in the office decent healthcare. On the other hand, in his defense, I will say the task was to slash the healthcare. So I'm not sure he could have done much better than Dwight, but maybe he could have. Well, does that make him kind of not as charming? I don't know.
Angela Kinsey
Well, I think what happens.
Jenna Fischer
This is an argument.
Angela Kinsey
I think what happens in this show is that Michael passes the buck to Jim and Jim passes it to Dwight. And it happens over and over.
Jenna Fischer
It does.
Angela Kinsey
It does. And Jim is just like, listen, I don't get paid enough to do this.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, well. And I think the argument really can be made that Jim knew it was inevitable. Like, what we ended up with is what we were going to end up with. Although the other argument can be made that Dwight made it worse than it needed to be.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, I have another note card.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, here it is. So one of the things I love about our props department is just all the little details in the back. And a great example of this is all of the motivational posters that you see around Dunder Mifflin. There's so many.
Jenna Fischer
They're brilliant.
Angela Kinsey
They're brilliant. I like to think that, like, Michael Scott really thinks they're gonna get everyone to, like, feel affirmed in their day. So, you know, there's one behind you in reception that just says teamwork.
Jenna Fischer
Yep.
Angela Kinsey
And it's a bunch of people. They've jumped out of a plane and they're all locking arms.
Jenna Fischer
Teamwork, Teamwork.
Angela Kinsey
These are all over the office, though. At 15 minutes, 50 seconds around there, it flashes to the clock on the wall. And under the clock, you just see it says self affirmations, self esteem. And then you can't see what else it says. But I'm like, what is under the clock? What are all these self affirmations?
Jenna Fischer
The detail work in our set design was incredible. And that was Michael Gallenberg. He was our set designer. It was so amazing and so many details. And then the props department would. Anytime there was some sheet of paper that we had to look at as a prop, it was a fully formed idea. You know, if there was a memo, they wrote out, like a whole real fake memo.
Angela Kinsey
And they wonder if it's funny. Brooklyn stationery.
Jenna Fischer
There's always funny little jokes hidden in them.
Angela Kinsey
And also all around the office, if you're in the break room, the menus, the magnets on the fridge, they're all from Scranton. They reached out to local businesses in Scranton, and they all sent their items, and they're all throughout our office. Also, of course, Froggy 95.5 local Scranton radio. That's what should be your playlist. You should have just listen to some Froggy.
Jenna Fischer
I really should have.
Angela Kinsey
All right.
Jenna Fischer
This episode ends with Michael coming out of his office. He's Successfully hidden in his office until 5pm After 5pm and the entire office is waiting to confront him both about the horrible healthcare plan that Dwight picked and to finally find out, please, what is the surprise? Because he's come in attempting to surprise us with ice cream sandwiches.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, he about hit me in the head with an ice cream sandwich. I mean, Steve actually, like, the look on his face after that take. He was like, ang, how close did that come? I was like, steve, you pretty much almost hit me in the head with it. And he also announced so proudly, operation Surprise.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
And so we're like, okay, what is it? What is it?
Jenna Fischer
And it's all he could come up with in his whole day was ice cream sandwiches. So now it's the end. And then he says, that's not the surprise. It's surprising, but it is not the surprise. So at the end of the episode, you confront him.
Angela Kinsey
I do. I love it. I loved being the person that confronted him because Steve is so funny. And he turned to me and he's like, yes, Angela, thank you for reminding me.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. So you ask him point blank, what is the surprise, Michael? And then he says the surprise is. And then he short circuits. He just stops talking.
Angela Kinsey
He just stops talking. And it's starts to have, like, upper lip sweat. And we all are just looking at him. It is so awkward. It's so awkward. And I remember when we did it, like, timing it out to that moment where we start to, like, slowly leave each person.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
And how long that felt.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Felt so long.
Jenna Fischer
It really did. As we were standing there and they had choreographed the order in which we would leave. And of course, we did many takes so we would have to come back and reset. And I remember thinking, are we gonna leave this? This is a giant pause with no dialogue. Is this gonna be able to stand? Because that was not something you did on television shows. In fact, on television shows, especially comedies, it was pretty traditional to have, like, set up, set up, joke, set up, set up, joke. And this was like a whole different rhythm. And so, yeah, I remember this. And I remember he just had to stand there.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, it was so awkward. And then when you watch it, it's so, like, cringy. But it's perfect. It's perfect.
Jenna Fischer
It's so good.
Angela Kinsey
And I. There's so many times, like, when I watch episodes of the Office where I'm like, how does Michael come back from that? Like, I say that to myself, like, how does he come back the next day?
Jenna Fischer
We all knew there was no surprise.
Angela Kinsey
We all knew but man, we made him suffer through that pause and then.
Jenna Fischer
Then best last line ever. After that suffering silence, Rainn says, oh, Jan wants you to call her. So good.
Angela Kinsey
So good.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, that's healthcare, guys.
Angela Kinsey
That is healthcare. Thank you so much, Rainn Wilson, for calling in and it was just so great to hear your voice. Oh, I'm just gonna go listen to the sounds of Scranton. I'll be right back. I'll see you guys next week.
Jenna Fischer
See you next week when we do the Alliance. Oh, there's so much good stuff in that one. Not to be missed.
Angela Kinsey
Not to be missed.
Jenna Fischer
Thank you for listening to Office Ladies Second drink.
Angela Kinsey
This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf.
Jenna Fischer
Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.
Angela Kinsey
Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins and our audio engineer and associate producer is Daniella Silva.
Jenna Fischer
Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Wise Berman and Leah Reese Dennis.
Angela Kinsey
Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basil.
Jenna Fischer
Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.
Angela Kinsey
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Whether you love true crime or comedy, celebrity interviews or news, you call the.
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Angela Kinsey
And guess what?
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Progressive, it works just the way it sounds. You tell Progressive how much you want.
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Angela Kinsey
Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law.
Office Ladies Podcast Summary
Episode: Second Drink: Healthcare
Release Date: November 25, 2024
Hosts: Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey
Guest: Rainn Wilson
In the "Second Drink: Healthcare" episode of the Office Ladies podcast, hosts Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey dive deep into Season 1, Episode 3 of The Office. This episode provides a comprehensive breakdown of the episode titled "Healthcare," enriched with exclusive behind-the-scenes anecdotes, character insights, and an engaging interview with Rainn Wilson, who portrays Dwight Schrute.
"Healthcare" is a pivotal episode in Season 1 of The Office, focusing on Michael Scott's attempt to manage the company's healthcare plan to prevent downsizing. Faced with the task from Jan, Michael delegates the responsibility to Dwight, leading to the selection of a plan that significantly reduces employee benefits. The office reacts negatively to the new plan, culminating in Michael promising a surprise to appease the disgruntled staff, which ultimately turns out to be disappointment.
Notable Plot Points:
Tracking Office Details: Jenna shares her commitment to tracking recurring elements in the office set, such as the cat calendar, highlighting the show's attention to continuity ([02:38] Jenna Fischer).
Deleted Scenes & Prop Stories: Angela mentions a deleted scene featuring Jim and Pam, which appears on the DVDs, adding depth to their early relationship ([03:02] Angela Kinsey). Additionally, Jenna recounts the multiple iterations of Dwight's conference room sign, showcasing Dwight's meticulous nature and Jenna's appreciation for these subtle character details ([03:39] Jenna Fischer).
Filming the Awkward Surprise: One of the standout moments discussed is the final scene where Michael promises a surprise, delivering something underwhelming. Paul Lieberstein, who wrote the episode, revealed that this scene was initially scripted to include the longest pause in television history, emphasizing the show's knack for leaning into awkwardness ([05:49] Jenna Fischer).
Physical Acting Challenges: Jenna marvels at how Rainn Wilson managed to portray natural sweating during the prolonged silence, enhancing the scene's discomfort ([07:56] Jenna Fischer).
The hosts invite Rainn Wilson, known for his role as Dwight Schrute, to discuss the "Healthcare" episode. Their conversation reveals several behind-the-scenes anecdotes:
Hot Dog Fingers Incident:
This unscripted moment, where actors couldn't contain their laughter, was left in the final edit, adding genuine humor to the episode.
Improvisation Dynamics:
He elaborates on how certain lines were improvised, contributing to the episode's authenticity and comedic effect.
Character Development: Rainn discusses Dwight's character traits, emphasizing his rigid worldview and hierarchical thinking, which are evident in his approach to managing the healthcare plan ([35:23] Rainn Wilson).
First Speaking Roles: He reveals that his first speaking role was as a coal miner operator during a phone call with Michael, a detail often unnoticed by fans ([54:15] Angela Kinsey).
Personal Anecdotes: Rainn shares personal experiences, including the birth of his son Walter during the shooting of the pilot and the camaraderie among the cast members, highlighting the familial bonds formed on set ([43:24] Rainn Wilson).
Props and Set Design: Angela praises the meticulousness of the props department, highlighting that every paper used as a prop, like memos and motivational posters, was thoughtfully crafted to mirror real office environments ([62:03] Jenna Fischer).
Motivational Posters: The show features numerous motivational posters with humorous twists, such as one showing people jumping out of a plane while locking arms under the theme "Teamwork" ([62:20] Angela Kinsey).
Background Details: Both hosts discuss subtle background details, like the "Sounds of Scranton" CD Jenna created to get into character during long commutes, and how such elements enriched their portrayal of office life ([17:00] Jenna Fischer).
Character Dynamics: They explore the interactions between the accounting department members, particularly focusing on Angela and Oscar's dynamic, which was partly improvised to reflect their off-screen relationship ([49:06] Angela Kinsey).
Spy Shots: Angela introduces the concept of "spy shots" (peep shots) used to capture genuine reactions of characters unaware they're being filmed, a technique borrowed from documentary filmmaking to enhance realism ([58:12] Angela Kinsey).
The "Healthcare" episode serves as a foundational installment that establishes character relationships and office dynamics pivotal to the show's longevity. Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey's in-depth analysis, combined with Rainn Wilson's firsthand accounts, offer fans a richer understanding of the episode's creation and its impact on the series.
Final Highlights:
Notable Quotes:
Jenna Fischer [05:49]: "Michael has promised everyone a big surprise. And everyone's pretty grumpy because they end up getting a crappy healthcare plan and ice cream sandwiches."
Rainn Wilson [35:23]: "The character enduring appeal, is he sees the world in a very clear way with these kind of strata, stratum hierarchies of rights and wrongs and moralities and how things work and how they should work."
Angela Kinsey [58:25]: "You can see here, Michael is just playing with his truck. He's rolling the truck back, and he's claiming that there's many calls coming in."
This detailed summary encapsulates the essence of the "Healthcare" episode as discussed in the podcast, providing listeners with valuable insights and a deeper appreciation of the show's intricacies.